These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. During the decade of their first iteration, the Byrds had seven Top 40 hits. Their first charting single went to #1, as did their third. In between the two, the band had another trip to the Top 40, although one that stalled out at that special number. Like many of the band’s songs (including that initial chart-topper), “All I Really Want to Do” … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “All I Really Want to Do”

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. The duly appointed First Lady of Crunk&B, Ciara scored a chart-topper with her very first solo single, “Goodies,” released in 2004. She then managed the runner-up slot with her next two releases, collaborations with Missy Elliott and Ludacris. All in all, not a bad way for an artist to establish herself right out of the gate. While she hasn’t quite reached those heights … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone”

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. B.B. King is an undisputed legend of the blues, using a guitar dubbed Lucille (usually, but not always, a black Gibson) to plow through powerhouse songs, many of which he himself established as standards of the genre. Despite all that, he only had modest crossover chart success. From the string of singles that began with “Miss Martha King,” released in 1949, and ended … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Ask Me No Questions”

According to Dion DiMucci, his time fronting the Belmonts came about because he decided to take his fledgling career into his own hands. In 1957, the Bronx-born singer signed to the newly-formed Mohawk Records. Almost immediately, the label heads had him record lead vocals for a pre-existing backing tracking, resulting in his first single, “The Chosen Few,” credited to Dion and the Timberlanes. DiMucci claimed he never even met the other individuals who performed on the record. He also found them unbearably bland, which inspired him to do what presumably any kid from the Bronx would do. He went back … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Don’t Pity Me”

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. Undoubtedly best known for the 1965 hit single “King of the Road,” country singer-songwriter Roger Miller had a total of twelve songs cross over to the Billboard Top 40, all of them within a four year span from the mid- to late-nineteen-sixties that began with the #1 country hit “Dang Me.” Miller learned guitar from his cousin, “Purple People Eater” writer-performer Sheb Wooley, … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd”

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. The Manhattan Transfer formed in the city alluded to in their name in 1969. The may have chosen that moniker to declare their municipal origins, but it’s more specifically lifted from a 1925 John Dos Passos novel. The first album by the Manhattan Transfer, Jukin’, was released on Capitol Records in 1971. This iteration of the group proved to be short-lived, reportedly because … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Spice of Life”

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. I’ll bet it just eats Bette Midler up that she can’t claim membership in the exclusive EGOT club, those individuals who’ve won at least one of each of the major entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. In the unlikely event she finds herself the recipient of an Academy Award in the near future — though she’s claimed two nominations in her career, … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Friends” and “Married Men”

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. The U.K. blues-rock band Ten Years After was only together from 1966 to 1974, but they were incredibly prolific in that span, releasing eight studio albums and two live discs, the second of which was, of course, a double album. In 1970 and 1971 alone, the band issued four albums. As with many other hard rock bands of the era, Ten Years After … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “I’d Love to Change the World”

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. By my count, Glen Campbell had a total of twenty-one Top 40 singles. In 1970, he hadn’t yet notched his two massive chart–toppers, but he had already proven his ability to cross over from the country charts. In fact, he enjoyed eight straight Top 40 singles in 1969 and 1970, including a couple of duets with Bobbie Gentry. He was coming off of … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Oh Happy Day”

These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. The performer born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien released her first solo recording in late 1963. She took a stage name derived from a childhood nickname bestowed upon her because of tomboy tendencies that often led to her coming home covered in dirt. Her new last name came from a folk trio she was in with Tom and Reshad Feild called the Springfields. … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “I’ll Try Anything”